Networks, especially wireless networks, are becoming increasingly feature-rich and, consequently, increasingly complex. With the advent of number portability, wireless roaming, wireless internet access, wireless data applications, and other services, adding more intelligence to the network and deploying these services more efficiently is a top priority. Additionally, concerns over network security have led to increased demands for more robustness in the signaling network.
In providing the various services required in today's networks, much of the processing required to screen and distribute a message to the proper service-providing application or processor is unnecessarily duplicated. For example, in an SS7 signal transfer point, a received signaling message typically goes through gateway screening, message discrimination, and message distribution before being delivered to the appropriate application. Each of these steps associated with screening and distributing the received message may include parsing the message, reading certain parameters, and determining how to proceed based on the parameters. Because of overlap in message parameters extracted and processed by the screening, discrimination, and distribution functions, and the application, valuable processor cycles can be wasted. Thus, there exists a need for improved methods and systems for processing received messages in a manner that avoids duplicative message processing.
Another problem with conventional message processing is that desired parameters needed to process received signaling messages are not located in the same message field for all types of signaling messages. Because parameters of interest may be located in different fields or locations in different message types, complex processing logic is required to decode each message. This complex processing logic increases the time required for processing each message, especially when the same parameter is used multiple times.
Accordingly, there exists a long-felt need for improved methods and systems for directing signaling messages to the appropriate application while avoiding duplicative processing.